


All This Time

by Cinnibun_Krysanthemum



Series: Solid State [3]
Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - My Chemical Romance (Album), The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Comic)
Genre: Gen, Will add more tags and stuff as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:47:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26415895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinnibun_Krysanthemum/pseuds/Cinnibun_Krysanthemum
Summary: The story begins!A worker, a daydream, a droid. A man, a woman, a message, a wall. Freedom.Can the people of Battery City be saved? And what exactly does that look like?Life may not be great, but it could be worse. Freedom has a cost. But it’s better than solid state.
Series: Solid State [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1901014
Comments: 6
Kudos: 6





	1. 10,700 and Counting

* * *

Somewhere, a Destroy Switch is flipped on. 

Sirens blare out, walls shake, everything is in chaos.

The city’s finest are sent out, using all their best counter-measures for disaster. 

Escape pods launch, trying to get away from the crumbling corporate state, but there’s only so many.

The last resort is attempted, still unable to stop the destruction.

Battery City falls, leaving most of its residents afraid. The wall falls in some places, exposing them all to the harsh nature beyond the edge. 

So much for their accident-free days.

They can’t live forever now, not without anyone left to perfect that technology. Now all this time they have left is all there is and all there will be.

Catastrophe will take hold in no time and claim them, just as it claims the city and the corporation.

But they are free now.

* * *

“-erts? Mr. Roberts!”

“What? Oh- sorry sir. I was daydreaming. I’ll get back to work.”

“Not so fast. You’re obviously distracted, why don’t you take a Red Pill before you get back to work. It seems you could use it.”

A Red Pill? Great, now he’ll forget. Again.

“Sure. Thank you.”

“Wonderful. Here you are. Though I will have to give you another strike, and I’m sure you know that means you will need to report to a manager.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Good. I’ll leave you to get back to work now.”

As his supervisor leaves, he takes the Red Pill to focus, and becomes more productive under its effects.

He already struggles to remember his daydream. Maybe if he directs his focus to that instead of work...

Hopefully.

* * *

“Good to see you again, Mr. Roberts. If you could just sign this before we begin?”

He signs. He’s read the same contract multiple times before, and though it’s foggy, he trusts his judgement in the past. No need to read it every single time.

“Thank you. Now, what’s had you so distracted? Would you like to tell me?”

Now he sees that it was good to forget most of it. This time, he tells. He hasn’t done that before.

“I see. That’s quite alarming, but I assure you that it will be okay. Your city is strong. Though, it is worrying that you would imagine such things. I’ll schedule you for a re-ed session.”

“What?”

“Oh, no, don’t worry. We have only your best interest in mind, truly. We want you to feel Better.”

* * *

He forgot again.

* * *


	2. The Friendlier Machines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not safe to stop working.  
> You can't daydream in the presence of your superiors.  
> Or can you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I'm kinda back!  
> I don't have much to say other than I hope you enjoy! And it's been a while so I'd advise you to at least check out the previous chapter.  
> Thanks!

* * *

Another day at the conveyor belts. Picking each thing up as it stops in front of him, processing it, setting it down, and watching it move away as the belt moves once again. 

A mindless job, nearly. 

And yet he was still expected to stay focused. To not long to follow the widgets and discover where they go next, once he had done his part. 

At least his supervisor was nice. They were surprisingly lenient, and even let him have a Blue Pill one time. It was a wild experience, and for just that while, he felt like he was someone who really meant something to this place. 

The thick concrete walls that made up the processing hall loomed in the distance, a faint reminder of the way he and all his coworkers were trapped here until 5. Working each day, never socializing with each other even. Oh well, the more he works, the more carbon credits he can make, and the more of those, the better entertainment he’ll get to have when he gets home. It could all be worse. 

A flash in his mind reminds him that it _is_ worse; he just keeps forgetting. If only he believed that it was all as good as it seems. Then he wouldn’t have to forget. He longs to be like the others. 

Wait. That’s wrong. He doesn’t want to be like that. Why would he want to be as mindless as the company treats him? Well, maybe so he won’t need to keep being re-educated. That’d definitely be a perk. But... why doesn’t it ever stick? 

A tap on his shoulder. _God,_ why does he have to keep daydreaming? It only gets him in trouble. Why is he like this? He can’t be the only one who feels uncomfortable working like this. Right?

With a sigh, he faces his robot supervisor. Again. 

He’s met with an expression he doesn’t often see, especially not from any of his higher-ups. Worry. His supervisor is... worried? About him? No, it must be about his productivity, and how that affects every job that comes after his own. That’s all. 

“What’s up?” 

“Douglas...” Uh oh. First names are never a good sign. “Are you alright? You seem more distracted than usual.” 

“No, no, sorry sir. I’m fine. I’ll take a Red Pill if you need me to. I apologize for my low productivity; I know the line is depending on me.” 

“What? No, I’m not going to give you another Red Pill. I’m just worried about you. You’re my employee, but you’re also...” he lowers his voice, “my friend. If you need anything, you can let me know.” 

That’s... weird. The supervisors aren’t supposed to do anything but their jobs. His had always seemed unusually friendly and lenient, but this was further than ever before. Before he can say anything, his supervisor glances around anxiously, turns around, and straightens his posture, marching away. That’s even weirder. Why did he—oh! Right, there are cameras all around the warehouse. So, he doesn’t want anyone else to know about what just happened? Huh. 

It looks like maybe he’s not the only one feeling like this after all. 

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! Sorry that it was short, but motivation is a tricky thing to come by recently. Next chapter we'll revisit the plot of the first part of the series, with the other characters.  
> Let me know what you think! I'm always willing to talk in the comments, or on Tumblr @starman-trashcan And not just about this, I love to interact with people just in general too!  
> See ya, and thanks for reading! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this first chapter of the story! If you haven’t read the intro chapters yet, they’re part 1 of the series. Though you don’t really need to read them to understand anything yet. I’ll make another note of it when you will need to.
> 
> What do you think? Let me know! Talk to me in comments and @starman-trashcan on tumblr! I love to talk and answer questions and just hear what people think!  
> <3


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